A Cold and Snowy Day
by BettyHall223
Summary: Jack finds out how thoughtful his daughter really is. Short fluffy story.


_Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended._

Home. It has a nice ring to it, Jack thought as he lay on the sofa with his eyes closed.

Never feeling comfortable in Washington, he had finally retired from his job and come home to Colorado Springs to be with Sam and Gracie.

He and Sam had finally married four years ago and their daughter was now three. They had hoped to give Gracie a playmate, but Sam had not gotten pregnant again and they now felt that they were getting too old to have another baby.

Gracie was the light of their lives with traits of both his and Sam's personalities. Gracie had his stubborn streak and Sam's keen intellect. Gracie was already reading beyond her age and was beginning to take an enthusiastic interest in math, much to Sam's delight. It amazed her parents how observant Gracie always seemed to be of everything around her.

Sam only worked part-time now, and had been called to the Mountain this morning to help determine a computer glitch that the technicians couldn't seem to figure out for the dialing program for the stargate. She had told Jack she hoped she wouldn't be gone too long.

Jack slowly opened his eyes to check on Gracie. She had been sitting on the floor, watching a cartoon with Homer, the dog, lying beside her. Jack noticed she was now standing at the sliding glass door, staring at the snow. She suddenly came running to him and tugged on his hand.

"Daddy, come see! Daddy, come see!"

Jack sat up. "What is it?"

"Come look!"

Jack stood up as Gracie pulled him to the door.

Gracie let go of his hand and put her little hands flat against the glass, big brown eyes wide with excitement.

"See, Daddy?"

"Yes, it's snowing, honey."

"No, Daddy. The birds. See the birds?"

Jack looked down at the deck to see two little brown speckled birds hopping around in the snow.

"Oh, I see. That kind of bird is called a wren."

She looked up at him. "Wren?"

Jack knelt down beside her and put his arm around her. "Yes. W R E N" he answered as he spelled the word for her.

"They're so little. Are they baby birds?"

"No, they're not babies. That's as big as they'll get."

"Won't they get cold?"

"They won't get cold, they have lots of feathers to keep them warm."

Gracie shook her head. "But they don't have feathers on their feet. They'll freeze."

Jack smiled. "They won't, honey. They can handle the cold weather better than we can."

"They need little socks" Gracie said in all seriousness.

Jack tried not to laugh. "Even though they have tiny feet, they're used to the cold. I promise."

"Do they have a home?"

"I'm sure they have a nest somewhere they can go to for warmth."

"Then why are they out in the cold?"

"They're searching for food. Now that the ground is covered with snow, they have a harder time finding something to eat."

Gracie looked at him with concern in her eyes. "They'll get really hungry, Daddy."

"They'll find food eventually, honey. It will just take them a little longer."

"But what if they have babies to feed and they don't get food to them? They could die. Can we feed them? I have a cookie in my room that I was saving 'til later but I would give it to them."

Jack smiled. "That's sweet that you want to give them your cookie but that's not necessary. I tell you what, next time we go to the pet store for Homer's food, we'll get some bird feed for them."

Gracie's lower lip started to tremble. "But they're hungry now, Daddy. We can't let them starve."

Jack gently patted her face and stood up. "Come with me."

Gracie went with Jack to the kitchen and climbed up on a stool as Jack got a plate from the cabinet. Grabbing a loaf of bread, he opened it, got out two slices and re-tied the bag. He handed one slice to Gracie and they tore the bread into tiny pieces and put them on the plate.

When they had finished, Jack carried the plate as Gracie followed. She watched as he opened the door, walked outside and the birds scattered. He tilted the plate so the bread fell to the snow-covered deck, came back inside and closed the door.

Gracie looked up at the sky. "They flew away."

"I scared them when I opened the door. Let's watch and see if they return."

They stood at the door for several moments, neither saying a word. Suddenly, one little bird flew back to the deck and a few seconds later, here came the other.

Gracie smiled as the birds began to eat the bread.

"We helped them not to get hungry, didn't we, Daddy?"

Jack knelt down beside her again. "We certainly did, sweetheart."

Gracie turned her head and looked at Jack. "When me and Mommy were in the pet store, we saw a blue bird and a green bird and a yellow bird."

"Those are called parakeets."

"Can I have one?"

"You want a parakeet?"

Gracie vigorously nodded her head.

"Well, let's talk it over with your Mom first."

Gracie turned her attention back to the wrens on the deck. "Okay."

Jack stood and they silently watched the birds eat the bread. Both birds picked up a piece in their beaks and flew away.

Jack lifted Gracie and they looked into the trees as the snow came down faster. "They might have babies in a nest somewhere since they're taking the bread with them" he said.

Gracie smiled. "I'm glad we helped."

"Me too, honey."

They heard the front door open and turned to see Sam.

"Hey, you two" she said with a grin as she laid her purse and keys on a hallway table, took off her gloves, stuck them in her coat pocket and hung up her coat.

"Mommy, we fed the birds cause they couldn't find food to eat in the snow."

"Well, that's very sweet of you."

"Can I get one of the birds at the pet store? Please?"

"We were just talking about parakeets" Jack explained.

Sam gently rubbed her finger against Gracie's cheek. "I guess we could but you'd have to help take care of it."

Gracie smiled. "I will. I promise. When can we go?"

Sam glanced out the window. "Not today, honey. It's snowing really hard and the roads are dangerous. It took me twice as long as usual to get home. We need to stay inside where it's safe and warm."

Jack set Gracie on the floor as she looked up at him. "Can we look at the birds on the computer, Daddy?"

"Sure. You know how to turn it on. Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute."

Gracie skipped down the hall, blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders.

Sam put her arms around Jack's neck.

"Had an interesting morning I see."

Jack smiled and put his arms around her waist. "Gracie thinks it would be a good idea if birds wore socks."

Sam frowned. "What?"

"She thinks their feet get cold."

They both chuckled.

Jack gazed into Sam's eyes. "You know, Sam, we have a very compassionate child. I just hope she stays that way all her life."

Sam put her hand to Jack's cheek. "I have a feeling she will. After all, she gets that from you."

Jack grinned. "Yeahsureyoubetcha."

They gave each other a quick hug.

"Go help Gracie, Jack. I'll start lunch. A big pot of hot chili would be good on a day like this, wouldn't it?"

"Certainly would" he answered as he started down the hall, Homer following closely behind him.

The End


End file.
